Coming Home
by iloveromance
Summary: After an unplanned trip to London goes horribly wrong, a heartbroken Lucy returns home to Gull Cottage and finds something she thought was lost forever. This is based on the classic 1947 movie version, staring Rex Harrison and Gene Tierney.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: This is my first "Ghost" story, which was intended to be a short one shot after seeing the movie on Turner Classic Movies for the first time in years. All reviews are appreciated.**_

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Lucy Muir walked down the stairs in a trance, turning to take one last glance at the house in London before returning her gaze to the street. Her first thought was to hire a carriage to take her home, but she decided against it. A nice long walk would do her good. The sights and sounds of the people and places around her would surely take her mind off of why she had come to the house in the first place, if only for a moment.

As she made her way down the first few blocks, she began to feel fatigued. It was a feeling that she didn't often experience but now it began to hit her full force. Perhaps it was best to catch a ride. Wearily she waved her arm in hopes of catching the attention of the nearest carriage driver. But it seemed that her actions were overlooked. And so she carried on, feeling weaker and weaker with each step.

Finally, as if by fate a carriage stopped, and a kind-looking man peered at her. "You need a ride, Miss?"

"Yes, please. I hope it's not a burden. I'm so tired."

He smiled and jumped down from his seat, offering her his hand to allow her to climb into the carriage.

"Where to?"

"Whitecliff. Gull Cottage to be exact."

The man's eyebrows rose. "Whitecliff? That's quite a long distance. Are you sure you're up for such a long journey?"

She winced, thinking of the fact that she'd come a long way only to leave with a shattered heart. But she quickly pushed the thought from her mind, ignoring the pain that lingered in her chest. She couldn't be crying all the way home. What would the driver think of her? And she of herself? Even when her beloved husband passed away the tears were few and far between. She loved him of course, but she wasn't the type of woman who showed her emotions easily. And so she plastered on a smile. "Yes, I'm quite up to it, thank you. And cost is no issue. I really need to get home and whatever the cost, it will be more than worth it."

The man shook his head. "Na, no charge ma'am."

She was completely shocked. "No, you can't do that. It's not right. It's such a long way."

"No problem. The least I can do for a woman in need."

She looked up sharply. "A woman in-."

"If you don't mind my saying so ma'am, you looked a little lost walking down the sidewalk."

She pondered this for a moment. It was certainly true, figuratively speaking. She was lost, but she also knew exactly where she was going. However, right now she didn't care where the day led her as long as it was home. The man was still staring at her and so she smiled again. "Yes, I suppose I am lost, a little, but I'll be all right when I get home. Take me there, will you?"

"Yes, ma'am." The driver put the carriage in motion and they began to move slowly down the street.


	2. Chapter 2

As the carriage moved along, she closed her eyes and was eventually lulled to sleep. But her sleep was invaded by dreams of the handsome Captain, who had, in a short period of time, changed her life forever. If in fact, he was even real. She didn't know what was real anymore and what was not. After the day she had endured, she wished and hoped that it was all a terrible nightmare. But when she closed her eyes, she found that she was still in the carriage, while the calmness of the sea glided slowly by.

When was this pain going to end? Suddenly she missed her late husband immensely, although she wondered why. She'd loved him of course, and she knew that Anna loved him as well. In fact, she adored her father, and his passing was the hardest thing that either of them had ever gone through. It wasn't fair, the way he was taken away so suddenly. One minute he was there and they were one of the happiest families around and the next he was gone, leaving them alone.

But soon she realized that she had to start over, and starting over meant moving out of her mother and sister-in-law's house. It was a move that hadn't gone well at all, and yet it was the best thing she'd ever done. Gull Cottage was hers and hers alone, save for the ghost that still lingered.

She shivered remembering his handsome face, his stern glare and the sound of his voice, as he spent hours with her in the cottage, dictating the book that they wrote together. And it was that book that brought them together in another way as well. What a selfless gift to give to someone, dictating their life's story in order to publish a book so that she would have the money to live in Gull Cottage forever. It was what made her fall in love with him. But she knew that they could never be together and that pained her heart.

The carriage came to a jolting halt, and she opened her eyes, startled by the sudden movement. The face of the handsome captain vanished, replaced with a sea of blurriness.

"We're here ma'am." The driver called to her.

"What? Oh… Right."

She looked around, comforted by the familiar scene. They were, at last… home.

"Home."

As he reached into the carriage to help her out, she swayed a bit, still shaken by her visit to London and by the sudden end of her dream.

"Are you all right, Ma'am?"

She forced a smile. "I'm fine. I'm just tired."

"Right. Well, it was a long journey but we made it safely and that's what is most important."

Now her smile softened and because genuine. "You're right. And I thank you for getting me home safely.

The driver returned her smile. "It was my pleasure."


	3. Chapter 3

She looked into her purse. "I wish I had some money to give you."

"Even if you did, I wouldn't take it."

She looked up sharply, offended by the remark. "And just what is that supposed to mean? Are you saying that my money's not valuable? How dare you-."

He held up his hand, clearly surprised by her outburst. "Hold on, ma'am, I didn't mean anything of the sort. I meant that this trip was my treat."

Suddenly she was ashamed of her outburst. What was wrong with her today? She wished that she could go back in time and do the whole day over. And that wish would not have included a trip to London at all. But there wasn't a thing she could do about it now. What had happened had happened.

"I'm sorry. And that's very generous of you, Mr.…"

"Scott." He finished "Gregory Scott."

She held out her gloved hand and smiled. "Pleased to meet you, Mr. Scott. I'm Lucy Muir. But you must let me repay you somehow."

"Nonsense, Ma'am."

"I insist. Now I have some money in the cottage so if you don't mind waiting…"

"I meant what I said. I won't take any money from you. It was just a goodwill gesture. Perhaps you can repay me another way in the future."

Her eyes widened, wondering what the man could possibly mean. And then she noticed how handsome he was, even more so than her husband; a thought that chilled her to the bone. She shouldn't be thinking such things. But to her dismay, the thought remained.

"Now don't get the wrong idea ma'am. I was just saying that there are other ways that generosity can be repaid besides money. There's food, gifts…. "

"Oh, are you hungry? Why didn't you say something? Please, come inside and I'd be happy to-."

"I really have to be getting back."

She glanced at the clock noticing how late it was. The afternoon was almost completely gone. "Of course. Well… thank you and I hope we will meet again in the future."

"Thank you. I hope we meet again soon."

She stood on the porch, watching as he turned the carriage around and proceeded to go the other direction. Her gaze was only intended to last a few minutes, but it remained on the carriage until it became tiny on the path and disappeared from sight.

When she returned to the house, she found a note on the table and picked it up. It was written in Martha's handwriting and stated that she and Anna had gone to the park and then to the library. Anna wanted to read the newest book by her favorite author, Uncle Neddy.

At once, the note crumpled in Lucy's hand and her body went limp as she collapsed to the floor. There she sat, staring at the note. It was such an innocent comment, but the name jumped out at her; a harsh reminder.

Uncle Neddy, famous children's book author, also known as _Miles Fairely_.

Miles Fairely, the man she had fallen in love with and had decided to pay a surprise visit to, only to discover, to her horror that he was a married man with a wife and two children. She sobbed uncontrollably into her hands, grateful that there was no one around to see her.


	4. Chapter 4

She cried for only a few minutes more and then rose to her feet. It was wrong crying like this. What if Lucy were to come home? The poor dear was likely to become upset and wonder what was wrong. And Lucy certainly couldn't tell her. Anne would never understand. She was much too young and she'd been through too much already.

Her feet carried her into the bedroom where she quickly dressed for bed. It was still early yet, not quite nightfall, but now her head was throbbing. A nap would do her a world of good, even more so than her walk along the sidewalk in London had.

But sleep would not come, no matter how hard she tried. She tossed and turned, as images of Miles taunted her. Must she be punished for someone that she knew nothing about? He gave her no reason not to trust him, no reason at all. And yet she shouldn't have trusted him. If she hadn't, she would have been spared this pain.

Finally in defeat she climbed out of bed and put on her robe. Outside the wind was blowing, a sign that a storm was coming. But she didn't care. She needed to feel the wind and the spray of the ocean on her face. So she opened the French door and walked onto the balcony, as she had done many times before. However, it only took one look at the beautiful blue sea before she collapsed into tears once more. She cried even more than she had in her life, no longer caring that it was completely uncharacteristic of her.

"It's not fair! It's just not fair!" She sobbed into her hands.

"I know, Lucia… it's not fair, is it?"

As she had done in the carriage, she gasped, startled by the familiar voice. "It's you…."

His handsome face came to light before her and he smiled. "It is."

"But… I don't understand…"

"I came because you needed me. That is, unless I'm wrong."

"No, you're not wrong. I just-." She started to cry again and amazingly she could feel his arms around her, but how was that possible?

"Don't cry Lucia. I hate to see your tears. What happened?"

She leaned against him, comforted by the softness of his black coat and the way he was gently rubbing her back. "Oh Daniel, it was terrible! I-I did what you said… I fell in love, but…"

"What happened?"

"I did something _stupid_ , Daniel, completely _stupid_! I… I decided to surprise him at his home. Only _I'm_ the one who got the surprise!"

"I don't understand."

"He's married! And he has… two children!"

"I'm so sorry. I had no idea, because if I had…"

"Why am I so stupid?"

As she cried into her hands he held her even closer as she rested her face against his coat.

"Lucia, you're not stupid, so don't even think it. You're wonderful. You're beautiful and kind and you have a beautiful daughter."

She sighed. "I know, but it's not enough. It will never… I wish there was a way that we could be together."

"We will be…"

"But that could take…."

" _Years_ , I know… But you have your whole life ahead of you."

"But how…"

"Go to him, Lucia. Go back to London and find him. He'll be there."

Her eyes widened. "Daniel you can't seriously be suggesting that I go running back to Miles!"

"No, not Miles, Lucia. I'm talking about Gregory."

"Gregory? You mean-."

"The man who took you home, yes."

"But-."

"Just go to London… You'll see…"

She held him tighter, wondering how it was possible for a ghost to feel so real. It had to be a dream. A wonderful dream that she never wanted to let go of.

And that night as she climbed back into bed, she thought about the handsome man that she'd met on her trip home. He was kind, generous and she owed him a great deal.

"Daniel?"

Almost as if by magic, he appeared before her. "Lucia…"

"I'll do it."

He smiled then. "Good."

"But where will you be?"

He took her hands and squeezed gently, and then leaned to kiss her; a kiss that was as gentle as the ocean breeze. "Right here, waiting for you, my darling."

 _THE END_

 _ **A/N: Thank you for reading this and reviews are appreciated. This was actually meant to be a much shorter story, but I enjoyed writing it. The story took a much different turn than I intended, so there may be a sequel to this sometime in the future.**_


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